Two Gainesville teens who were accused of breaking into a smartphone repair store to steal thousands of dollars worth of phones and then selling them to another phone-repair store have been identified by police.
Police arrested one of the men –– Brian Keith Johnson, Jr., 19 –– Tuesday on 16 charges including grand theft, dealing in organized stolen property and fraud, according to a Gainesville Police arrest report.
A sworn complaint has been issued for the second suspect, 18-year-old Corey Motanise Larry.
Early on Dec. 22, two men broke into Orange Phone Care on Southwest 34th Street, the report said. In addition to taking phones, they caused more than $3,000 worth of damage.
Later that day, Johnson sold an iPhone 6 16GB to Re-Tech Repair Experts on Archer Road for $50, the report said. He completed the paperwork, gave a photo ID and thumbprint to sell it.
The following day, Johnson and Larry went to the Oaks Mall’s food court and used an ecoATM kiosk, an unmanned kiosk that allows customers to sell their used phones, police said. Johnson sold an iPhone 6 128GB for $95, and Larry sold an iPhone 7 128GB at a kiosk for $205, according to police report.
Johnson then sold three additional phones to Re-Tech for $400, police said. The next day, he sold one last phone to Re-Tech for $90.
Johnson was taken to the Alachua County Jail and remains in lieu of $141,000.
Contact Paige Fry at pfry@alligator.org. Follow her on Twitter at @paigexfry.
Brian Keith Johnson, Jr.
